The Protector
by DanniB
Summary: Sylvia tries her best to protect Wander from the Watchdog army, but what is Wander up to?


(Author's note: Wander over Yonder and its characters are the property of Craig McCracken and Disney. 4/30 EDIT-Something odd happened to the formatting and the whole thing got squished into one paragraph, so I fixed it. Also yes, this was previously on Tumblr before I decided to post it here.)

The Watchdog army bore down on its quarry, forcing the zbornak and nomad into a retreat through the crumbling ghost town. The grey palette of urban decay flew passed as the imperiled pair found themselves rushing down the empty main street. Around every corner another platoon of soldiers came marching, cutting off every avenue of escape. Soon they were flanked on all sides.

Sylvia held up her fists defensively. The Watchdogs were closing in. Wander swiveled his head around, forwards, back, side to side, up and down, then he gasped deep with alarm.

"Don't worry buddy. I'm not letting them take us without a fight." The first few brave soldiers leaped forward trying to restrain her. A flick of her tail was all it took to blow them away. She punched at the set that was approaching from the front and kicked at another trying to grab her leg so hard that he flew into the one behind him. "Ha! Not even breaking a sweat." She grinned, enjoying the fisticuffs. Another wave of Watchdogs made their attempt, armed with chains. She snorted at how feeble the idea was that they could bind her so easily and when one lassoed her around the neck she reared up, pulling the unprepared eyeball-man off his feet and punched him right in the face as the momentum brought him to her fist. She broke off the chain and turned to address the other would-be cowboys. These however, had brought out chains three times thicker.

Sylvia gulped; it seemed these Watchdogs had come prepared. But she resolved herself. "Upping the game huh? Well bring it…" She stopped mid-threat, stumbling over something that had gotten under her. A Watchdog rushed forward to take advantage of her clumsy misstep but she quickly head-butted him away and jumped back onto her feet. Looking down, she saw that her stumbling-block had been Wander. At some point he had gotten off her back without her noticing and now he was on the ground, hunched over onto the broken street, staring at the ground, back arched up.

"Wander, what are you doing down there?" She wondered aloud. "Get up. You could get trampled!"

He remained on his knees. "'Fraid I can't, Syl." He looked up only briefly then down again.

"What do you mean, you can't?" she asked, her frustration rising. She didn't get an answer due to a group of Watchdogs exploiting the distraction to jump on her. She bucked furiously, not giving them the chance to bind her with their heavy chains. She was forced to watch her step however with Wander on the ground. "This would be a lot easier if you got back in the saddle, pal." She grunted, tossing a punched out Watchdog aside.

"No can do." Wander declared, continuing to huddle on the ground. Sylvia saw a pair of Watchdogs close in on him and lunged forward to grab their heads and slam them together. She then reached down aiming to pick Wander up but he flinched away from her touch. "No! Not until it's safe."

"Safe? Safe would be you getting off the ground and us getting the grop out of this place!" she yelled, picking up another attacker and hurling him into his brethren. Wander however refused to budge, staying very solidly on that one spot. He muttered to himself, "it's gonna be okay..." despite the vulnerable position he was in. Sylvia thought he may have finally flipped his lid, but with Watchdogs still attacking she didn't have time for his antics. She straddled over him and made her stand.

Punch after punch she sent Watchdogs flying. Spinning around she delivered a round house kick to another then a hard left hook to the one next to him. A chain whipped around her arm as a pair of Watchdogs tried pulling her away from Wander. She yanked the chain pulling the duo over and wrapped them up in their own weapon. She lifted the mass of chain and soldiers and hurled them into the horde, knocking over several others.

The army was thinning, many of its members rendered unconscious or had cowardly retreated out of fear for their own safety. The stalwart soldiers remaining regrouped, circling around Sylvia, drawing out their blasters. She looked down at Wander, still on the ground. He had removed his hat, hugging it to his chest as he sat with it between his legs. He too was eyeing the watchdogs nervously, but made no attempt to move from the spot he had rooted himself to.

The watchdogs opened fire, looking to weaken their opponents with stun blasts. Sylvia dodged as best she could in the small area she had while giving Wander cover. The sting of a laser grazed her shoulder. She winced, but continued to make sure Wander wasn't getting hit. Again the army moved in for the capture, bringing out the chains, looking for the duo to surrender or face the wrath of the blasters once again. When the chains flew at her, Sylvia reacted fast, grabbing them and yanking them from the watchdog's grips. Now armed with ranged weapons, she flailed the chains towards them, keeping them at a distance. "Keep off, you mono-ocular uglies!" she warned. The Watchdogs stared at her theatrical display, intimidated at first but quickly caught on that she wasn't leaving Wander's side to pursue them and complete her attack. They lifted their blasters again. Seeing they were serious, Sylvia whipped her chain out as far as it would go. It smacked the nearest soldier in the face, causing him to drop his weapon.

The blaster discharged and the ray struck the face of a tall, dilapidated building across the street. The building groaned loudly, the already present cracks growing and spreading across the bricks. Then the structure fell forward, chunks of cement and mortar avalanching down right into the path of the unprepared Watchdogs. Sylvia jumped onto Wander, shielding him from the flying debris with her thick hide. When the dust settled, the Watchdogs had been swept away and would most likely need to regroup and recover from their injuries before coming after the duo again. Sylvia allowed herself a sigh of relief and removed herself from on top of Wander. He was still hugging his hat as he looked around cautiously. "It's okay buddy. They're gone. It's safe now." she assured him. He looked around one last time and carefully, he lifted up his hat and revealed what he had been so focused on this whole time.

A tiny dandelion.

He smiled down at the fluffy yellow flower that was triumphantly poking out from a crack in the street. The only living thing in this deserted town. "It is safe." he said, "Thanks for helpin' me protect it. Those Watchdogs woulda stomped all over it for sure."

"Yeah, they would have..." Sylvia agreed, still overcoming her surprise. Wander took a watering can from the hat, gave the flower a drink, and replaced his headwear before mounting her saddle.

"Well Syl, where to next?" he asked.

"May as well head into the sunset good buddy." she answered carefully stepping over the dandelion before trotting out of town.

The End


End file.
